Prezi helps students present with style

Prezi looks to take on power point by making presentations easier — and they are starting with the classroom.

We’re all used to the typical business meeting or classroom presentation embellished with a slideshow to provide a visual aid. But it turns out that those flat slide shows may be a thing of the past.

A San Francisco startup named Prezi has updated the art of the presentation with software that enables a more interactive experience, and it’s gaining popularity in colleges around the country. As a way to help spread the word, Prezi has more than 70 student ambassadors at various campuses and is holding a Canvas My Campus contest.

“They’re so engaged in using it as a better way to communicate,” explains Scott Kabat, Prezi’s chief marketing officer. “It’s a visual way to teach or share that is much more reflective of your creative side.”

That’s where the contest comes into play. With Canvas My Campus, students use Prezi to create a presentation about what makes their colleges great.

If you need an example, Prezi posted one on its website. “We created one where we showcased a school,” says Kabat, “and we used Hogwarts as the campus.”

Students are encouraged to use the software as an updated way to show off all the magic and mystery that their own schools possess. We’re not sure how Dumbledore would feel about this, but we like to think that he’d be amused.